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PROGESS 0F ANDAPPARATUS FOR THE PRODUQTIONOF HIGHLY 'PURHIED ALCOHOL.

110.294.2225; I Pa tented Feb.26,18.84.

'or otherwise, as desired.

l m STATES PATENT ,FFIQE.

JULIUS'ALFRED STELZNER, or ALT GHEMNITZ, SAXONY, GERMANY.

PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF HIGHLY-PURIFIED ALCOHOL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 294,285, dated February96, 1884.

, Application filed April 2, 1883. (No model.) Patented in GermanyDecember 9, 1882, No. 25,773; in England February 2, 1883, No.

577; in Italy May 23, 1883, XVI, 15,068, and XXX, 434, and in FranceNovember 7, 1883, No. 156,725.

' gle Rectification and Continual Working; and

I do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the. invention, such as will enable others skilled 'inthe art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference-beinghad to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a new process of and means for obtaining finespirit or pure alcohol, and to means whereby the rectification ordistillation may be made continuous In the accompanying drawings Ihav eshown, in Figure 1, by a vertical section,-the various parts of whichthe apparatus is composed and which, embody my improvements, and in Fig.2 one of the steam-spraying devices by a plan view. r

In most of the methods now in use for rectifying crude alcohol, fromwhich finespiritthat is to'say, alcohol without taste or smell,

and practically free from water (i. 6., absolute alcohol)-is-obtaine d,the crude liquor is either subjected to repeated rectification or issub- 5 jected before rectification to various prepara vention, I haveomitted in the accompanying. drawings such elements as the condenser,the

tory treatments, such as filtration, 8m.

By means of my improved processes and apparatus, neutral or nearlyabsolute alcohol can be obtained without preparatory treatment and by asingle rectification; and the operation may be made a continuous one ornot, as

desired.

In order to more clearly illustrate my insteam-generator, thermometer,and other wellknown devices, the construction and function of which arewell understood, and which form no part of this invention.

Distilling or rectifying apparatus as heretofore constructed, and thatdo not operate continuously, may be converted intocontinuously-operating apparatus at a small cost and withoutinterruption in their working.

As shown in the drawings, the apparatus is composed, essentially, of astill divided into two compartments, A B, by means of a perforateddiaphragm, B, of a distilling and recti fying column, which should belocated above the still A B, as shown. The column 0 is sur-- rounded bya refrigerating-j acket, O, at apoint intermediate of the still and theusual refrigerating-jacket,.0", at its upper end, to which end the pipeD, leading to the condenser, is connected. It is further composed of ,acrudeliquor reservoir, E, (provided with a level-in:

dicator, f,) a cold-water reservoir, M, and the necessaryconnectingpipes, and, finally, of a second rectifying-column, 1+, forpurposes hereknown accessories, hereinabove referred to as omitted fromthe drawings for the sake .of clearness.

I would here remark that the apparatus" should be well heated beforebeginning to recthe vaporizing capacity of the apparatusthat is to say,the quantity of liquor fed to the still should as much as possible. besuch as to be vaporized as fast as injected.

I will now proceed to describe the construction and operation of theapparatus in detail. The crude liquor passes from reservoir E throughpipe h to an injector, H, of any usual or preferred construction, steambeing fed thereto from any suitable generator through pipe 9, and fromthe latter it is forced with the steam into and through pipe '5, saidpipe terminating in a rose-head or other suitable sprayis provided witha suitable stop-cock, a. The crude liquor forced into compartment A, ina finely-subdivided state, between two strata of finely-subdividedsteain, is at once vaporiZedan operation which is assisted by the heatfrom a steam-coil, I), located in the lower part of compartment A, belowspray-pipe J. The finely-subdivided liquor is not only vaporized in themanner and by the means described, but it is also purified, lixiviated,or washed, and diluted. The alcohol vapors rise from the compartment Ainto B through one or more finelyperforated intermediate diaphragms,l3,and in said compartment 13 the vapors are again washed and diluted by aspray of water from rose-heads L L, supplied from the cooling-jackets O0 through pipes 0' 0 each provided with suitable stop-cock, 8 a

It will be found advantageous to employ several water-spraying devices,located one above the other, and these should be supplied with water ofvarying temperatures. The water supplied to the lower rose-head, L,should be of a higher temperature than the water supplied to rose-head Labove it; and if more than two rose-heads are'employed, water decreasingin temperature should be supplied to the successive rose-heads.

In practice I prefer to employ more than two such water-sprayingdevices. It is also of advantage to admit steam of low pressure in theform of spray between each two waterspraying devices, though this is notabsolutely necessary. I also employ means for refining or purifying thealcohol, which may be mixed with the crude liquor or with the watersupplied to the spraying devices. For this purpose I employ either oilor an alkali-$ueh as carbonate of soda, carbonate of lime, carbonate ofmagnesia, carbonate of strontium, or another alkali in solution. Theproportion ofthe refining or purifying material will vary accord ing tothe nature of the crude material, and can therefore not be given. Therepeatedlydiluted and thoroughly washed and purified alcohol vapors bymeans of steam and water or by means of both the latter and a purifyingor refining material pass from the compartment B of the still into thedistilling and rectifying column or columns 0, (several such columns maybe employed,) or into like or equivalent appliances, and of any usual orpreferred construction, in a wellpurified state, the completerectification being then effected in a rapid and simple manner; and theoperation may be carried on for an indefinite period, as will be mademore apparent hereinafter.

I have found it of advantage to surround the second section of thedistilling and rectifying column with a refrigerating-jacket, O, thewater supplied thereto being taken from the jacket 0 around the top ofsaid column, and is therefore of considerably higher temperature thanthe water supplied to the latter direct from the reservoir M.

\Vhen the operation of distilling or rectifyas shown, to conduct theVapors condensed in D to said still, so as to avoid too great a pressureof such vapors within the dephlcgmator,

and also to prevent the collecting in the upper part of the column ofcondensed alcohol vapors, the boiling-point of which is nearest to thatof ethyl alcohol, the pipe 2 passing from the dephlegmator or from thepipe Z through one of the cooling-jackets into the distilling-column.

The waste wash is continuously discharged from the compartment A of thestill through pipe 0, and conducted into a smaller auxiliarydistilling-column, 1?, where it is discharged through arose-head, c, andin which column alcohol carried over is vaporized by the heat suppliedfrom a steam-coil, d, connected by pipe I) with the exhaust-pipe Z) ofthe steamcoil b of the still, both pipes being supplied with suitablestop-cocks, s s". The exhaust pipe of the coil d is or may also beconnected with the exhaust-pipe I) beyond the stockcock 8 as shown.

G is a condenser, in which the vapors from still F are condensed, coldwater being supplied thereto from the cooling-jacket G by pipe 1 Thewater is discharged from still F through pipe 0, provided with asuitable stopcock. The material employed for refining or purifying thealcohol may also be recovered, and if oil is used it may be recovered inthe column F.

I call particular attention to the fact that the consumption of steam incarrying out the above-described processes is not greater than in theordinary non-continuous mode of distilling. Inferior products-such asfine spirit or alcohol-may also be obtained in the manner hereinbeforeset forth and by a continuous operation, as will be readily understoodand, irrespective of the latter feature, such may be obtained atconsiderably less expense.

Theherein-described methods of producing fine or nearly absolute acohol,spirits of wine, or fine spirit or alcohol may be carried out in thecontinuously operating distilling or rectifying apparatus of usualconstruction with great advantage and at a comparatively slight changein their construction.

The admission of water in the form of spray or atoms below therectifying column or columns in distilling apparatus that do not operatecontinuouslyis also of great advantange, as a finer product is obtainedbyfirst lixiviating the vapors.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. Theherein-described method of distilling or rectifying alcohol, whichconsists in injecting the crude alcohol into the still in the form ofspray, vaporizing and purifying the same by means of steam injected intothe sprayed alcohol, and injecting water in the form of spray intothecombined steam and alcohol vapors, to dilute and purify the same, asset forth.

2. The herein-described method of distilling or rectifying alcohol,which consists in injecting the crude alcohol into the still in the formof spray, vaporizing and purifying the same by means of steam injectedinto the sprayed alcohol, and injecting water in the form of spray ofgradually-diminishing tem-- perature into the combined steam and alcoholvapors as they rise on their way to the rectifying-column, as set forth,for the purposes specified.

3. The herein-described method of distilling or rectifying alcohol,which consists in inj'ecting the crude alcohol into the still in theform of spray, vaporizing and purifying the ,same by means of steaminjected into the sprayed alcohol, subjecting the latter to the actionof an' alkali or an oil, and injecting water in the form of spray intothe alcoholvapors, substantially asdescribed, for the purposesspecified. 4. The herein-described method of distilling or rectifyingalcohol, which consists in injecti'ng steam in the form of spray intothe sprayed alcohol, subjecting the latter to the action of an alkali insolution, or an oil, and injecting into the combined sprayed liquids andvapors water in the form of spray, and of gradually-decreasingtemperature, .as said vapors pass from the still to therectifying-column, substantially as described, for the purposesspecified.

5. In a distilling or rectifying apparatus,

the combination, with a rectifying-column and a still divided into aseries of distilling-chambers, of an injector, a heater, andsteam-spraying devices for injecting the alcohol in the form of sprayinto one of the stills, vaporizing the same and injecting steam in theform of spray into said alcohol vapors before .they

reach the second still, and spraying devices for injecting water in theform of spray into the combined vapors as they enter the second stilland before they reach the rectifying-column, substantially as described,for the purpose specified.

(S. In a distilling apparatus, astill divided into a series ofdistilling chambers or compartmentsby means of perforated diaphragms, arectifying-column, a cooler at the upper end thereof, and adephlegmator, in combination with a second cooler, 0, applied to saidrectifying-column between the still and upper cooler, and a connectionfor connecting the dephlegmator, through one of the-coolers, with thestill, substantially as described, for the purpose specified. 1

7.-In a rectifying apparatus, the combination, with a rectifyingcolumn,of a refrigerator located at its upper end, a still divided into two ormore compartments by means of per,- forated diaphragms, an injector,heater, and steam-spraying devices located in the initial compartment,into which the alcohol is injected in theform of spray, spraying deviceslocated in the terminal compartment, for injecting water in the form ofspray into the combined vapors asthey arrive from the initialcompartment, and a second refrigerator, 0, located on therectifying-column intermediate of the terminal compartment of the stillandthe upper refrigerator on the column, all combined for co-operation,substantially as described, for the purposes specified. v

8. In a distilling or rectifying'apparatus, the combination, with arectifying-column and a still, of two or more superposed sprayingdevices, L L, for injecting water at graduallydecreasing temperaturesinto the alcohol vapors on their way to the rectifying-column,substantially as described, for the purposes specified.

9. In a distilling and rectifying apparatus, the combination, with adistilling and rectifying column, a still, its steam heating-coil, andthe exhaust-pipe thereof, of an auxiliary rectifying-column, F, and itssteam heating-coil 1, connected with the exhaustpipe of the coil of thestill, substantially as described, for the purpose specified. v s

10. In a distilling and rectifying apparatus,

the combination, with] a distilling and rectisiphon-pipe with therectifying-column and by a discharge-pipe with the still, substantiallyas and for the purposes specified.

12. In a distilling and rectifying apparatus, the combination of astill, an injector provided with a spraying-nozzle for injecting theliquid into the still in the form of spray, and two steam-sprayingpipes, J J, located, respectively, above and'below the injectorsprayingnozzle, substantially as described, for the purposes specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.JULIUS ALFRED STELZNER.

Witnesses:

BRUNO UHLY, AUGUST ZUADARGEL.

